Customer Reviews

Developing Talents: Careers For Individuals With Asperger Syndrome And High-functioning Autism- Updated, Expanded Edition

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a parent of a teenager with Aspergers, alot of Ms. Gradin's recommendations confirmed what I already thought: sell the skills not the personality, go into areas where your interests/fixations lie and consider working as a consultant in your area of expertise. Finding recommendations I already thought of didn't make me feel like those parts of the book were a waste. On the contrary, it is nice to have affirmation from an outside source, particularly one intimately knowledgable of autism.

Other recommendations she makes were new to me. I had not thought of them, but they make alot of sense. She encourages people to go out and interview people in their field of choice to learn what they can about the industry. For neurotypical people, this would be akin to networking. For autistics, it is couched in a manner far easier for them to manage. People on the autism spectrum are probably not going to be good at social networking. But they would be very good at the interviews she recommends. She takes classic job networking and reworks it into research. I know my son LOVES researching more information on his interests, but digs in his heels at the thought of socializing.

Ms. Gradin also discusses the different styles of learning/thinking and which jobs are good for those type of people. My son happens to have amazing visual spatial abilities and is currently taking CAD in high school where he is getting straight A's. He now wants to become an architect which is exactly one of the fields Ms. Gradin reommends for visual spatial people on the spectrum.

Other beneficial feature of the book are the list of sources for information, examples of people in a wide selection of fields and Temple Gradin's personal observances.

I'm greatful to Ms. Gradin for writing books on autism. As hard as I try to understand my son, the fact that my brain is wired differently then his means I will always approach him with a bias, unintentional or otherwise. Her books clarify and explain things I could ponder for years and still not quite grasp.

I would also highly recommend her Animals In Translation book.

As a parent of an adolescent with Asperger Syndrome, I found this book easy to read and understand, with practical how-to instructions and guidelines for preparing my son to enter the work force. I really liked the emphasis on developing social and communication skills that are found throughout the book. This is one I will recommend to friends and relatives as well as my son's educators.

I have read all three of Temple Grandin's books. Each offers a different look at what it is like to experience Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In "Developing Talents" Grandin provides the readers with insight into how parents and educators can assist people with High Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome (HFA/AS)achieve success.

Presented in an easy to read format,this book focuses on using one's strengths, natural talents, and special interests to gain
employment and lead successful lives. This book offers helpful strategies to promote such things as addressing sensory needs in the workplace as well as creating a portfolio to showcase one's talents.

In today's society, having marketable job skills is a must. This book gives a proactive look at some of the challenges faced by people with HFA/AS. It is important for parents and educators to introduce the concepts of the book early in the educational careers of these students as the skills are life skills in addition to career skills.

Dr. Grandin has taken her knowledge, expertise and sensitivity one step further in Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism. She offers many ideas for those affected by or those working with these individuals. This area is filled with people of talent who are underemployed. An example of one of the suggestions offered - an individual who is interested in cartoons and spends their days drawing - all day - being encouraged to go to a museum of cartooning, learning about different kinds of cartoons, the history of cartoons which expands their interest - meeting others with the same interest. It is not enough to have a talent or the intellectual ability to understand complex things. Without work, Dr. Grandin explains, her life would not have had order, content or meaning. She covers many different kinds of jobs that people on the autism spectrum can accommodate to and ones that would be more difficult for them. The book is well thought out and because Dr. Grandin is herself on the spectrum and spends so much of her time speaking to others at her many presentations she has analyzed a great deal of what works and what does not. This book is an absolute must read! I run a large group for parents, professionals and individuals and it is one of my first recommendations. This book gives concrete suggestions and hope.

By my having AS, along with ADHD, I was looking for a book that would give me some insight on the type of careers that people with AS may gravitate towards and how those with AS cope and succeed in an NT work environment.

For careers, not much insight as the gist was to try and make a career out of your special interest, which can vary among aspies. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it means that the career options are many for those of us with AS.

My second objective of learning how aspies can function effectively in the workplace was more disappointing. Most of the advice was things you could find in traditional career books. Not much on how to interview well, given our social challenges, or how to promote accomplishments because of the tendency to want to work alone. These are just two examples.

The book does a fair job of explaining AS and how it could present challenges in the workplace, but all in all, nothing insightful that can be used to find or succeed in a career.

"Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism", by Temple Grandin and Kate Duffy. APC(Autism Asperger Publishing Co.), KS 2004. ISBN 1-93-1282-56-0 Pbk. 140/153 pages includes 5 pgs. Ref., and Append. 3 pgs., 6 pgs. Disclosure, & 9 pgs. Job tips and development. Some charts, no illustrations. 9" x 6".

A carefully written and documented treatise on practical methods to nurture, acquire and maintain employment of individuals with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorders) and especial reference to those having Asperger's Syndrome, i.e., a high or higher-functioning level of autism either with or without specific talents. The authors have particular first-hand knowledge of ASD by either being affected or children with autistic traits.

So, yes, this is a "how to" book that should prove to be an important informational guide on structuring realistic avenues that can lead to eventual employment in the workforce, clearly pointing out the need for early intervention (parents), focusing on development of talents into marketable skills and managing the environmental and social factors that may be devastating to those potentially employable ASDs using mentors whenever possible.

The writers have skillfully outlined the many basic problems encountered in ASD together with mitigating means to overcome such difficulties. In ASD there is a neurological disability which often is manifest via magnitude, separation, and response of the various sense modalities (touch, taste, sound, visual). This imbalance and admixture or crossing-over of sensory modalities is associated with frustrations, anger, withdrawal, and distraction from mild stimuli such as fluorescent light flickering, roughness of clothing, strong scents and includes avoidance of eye contact, crowds, and careless grooming, etc. Using "white noise", gum chewing, exercise, soft clothing, incandescent bulbs, tinted glasses, "counting to 10" and counseling can do wonders. Using networking, hobbies, portfolio creation, and focusing on improving enjoyed skills can lead to successful employment.

The appendix briefly covers the ADA of 1990 and many available resources. Authors point out many of the computer nerds or geeks are believed to have Asperger, that many have exceptional skills to contribute to society as a whole, the caveat being that their societal integration faces many pitfalls which can be avoided or cushioned, and these are succinctly spelled out in this manual. With statistics revealing that upwards of 1 in 166 children are currently diagnosed with ASD, it is a certainty you will undoubtedly encounter many of them in the schools, workplace, gatherings, and etc., ergo this guide is helpful for all.

I should have found this book earlier! - That's how I felt soon after I encountered this book, for I have had a whole bunch of job changes and even today, I have no idea yet what kind of job suits me best. I suppose this book is a must read to know our hidden talents we haven't realized before. Of course, I know all the people between jobs want another job ASAP. However, what if you get a job which eventually might stress you out and would like to leave? Would you like to call this life pointless and boring? So I recommend you to read this book to make out how to be successful at work. And just looking for jobs after jobs means jumping the gun, if you ask me.

Speaking of Developing Talents, Dr. Temple Grandin specifies the tactics and keys to success. Quite embarrassingly enough, I blew a gasket when I answered a very rude young lady on the phone. She failed to mention her name first, which offended me quite a lot! She said,"Is Mr.S there?" very condescendingly twice, which was my straw! After finishing my job, I complained about her terrible manner, yelling and lashing out at her. During the argument, she cried and the other employees told me,"You've gone too far! You didn't have to make her cry like this." Judging from this book, blowing up doesn't help at all. Like many people with AS, I was more impatient than most NT's, which often scare NT's, esp.,ladies. That's why "Controlling Anger"(p.21) applies to short-tempered guys like me.

Overall, I'd like to read the book thoroughly so I can gradually find my positive traits that might suit me quite well. Furthermore, dealing with this book is a chance for me to think more wisely about my life!

Most of this book offers parents assistance in educational needs of their lower functioning autisitc children. However, the list of possible job types is limited to manual laborer jobs. After having worked (and lived) with children in the autistic spectrum, I believe they are capable of much more than this book offers them. I would liketo see the authors add a list of secondary schools that offer admissins to children on the autistic spectrum along with assistance in the application process.

As a recent college graduate with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this book gave me some really good advice about how to get into a career through the 'back-door.' Though I do reasonably well during interviews, the suggestion to supplement an interview with a portfolio was very useful because I can include a link to it on my thank-you emails to interviewers. This way, they have another way to gauge my work rather than relying on what I say or do not say. I thought the worksheets for the informational interviews were helpful along with the chart mapping out special challenges of ASD in the workplace and how one would cope with them. Recognizing my limitations in the workplace and coping with them has helped me be more productive in my current work environment.

I have used this book in my practice as a life coach for adults on the autism spectrum. The format makes it easy to use as a discussion guide. The list of resources and web sites at the end of the book are wonderful for enrichment. You don't have to agree with everything in the book. It is a great source for generating conversations around the topics of careers, and the challenges adults on the spectrum meet as they begin their search for a career that is satisfying and that allows them to use their talents to the fullest.